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Cameron Johnson at Elara India Dialogue – Ashwamedh 2025 urges India to build resilient supply chains, stressing ecosystem integration to rival China.
He urged policymakers, investors, and corporates to support the ecosystem with longer-term buyer agreements, customised education-to-industry pipelines, and cross-industry R&D collaboration.
India has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to emerge as the world’s next great manufacturing hub, but must move beyond simply competing with China on costs, warned Cameron Johnson, partner at Tidalwave Solutions and a global supply chain strategist.
Speaking at Elara India Dialogue – Ashwamedh 2025, Johnson laid out a five-pillar framework for building resilient supply chains: advanced infrastructure, skilled talent and education, government support, raw material processing, and technology integration. “You cannot just outbid China,” he said. “India needs to build entire ecosystems that work in concert, not just assemble products.”
Over the past five years, global supply chains have been redrawn by diversification away from China, the rise of national security concerns, and the collapse of the post-WWII trade order. Washington’s sweeping tariffs, he noted, are not just about trade imbalances but also about jobs, industrial policy, and foreign policy leverage.
These shifts are already rippling through India. According to Johnson, tariffs could shave $30–40 billion off India’s exports by 2030, with textiles, apparel and home goods particularly exposed. Nearly half of India’s shipments to the US now face tariffs, raising competitiveness concerns versus China, though marquee investors like Apple continue to enjoy exemptions.
Still, India holds structural advantages unmatched outside China: a deep pool of engineers, English fluency, cost competitiveness, a legal system familiar to the West, and government incentives. Its scalability, Johnson stressed, is far ahead of Southeast Asian peers tied to China’s slowdown.
The challenges, however, are real — low productivity, dependence on imported materials, high capital costs, and fragmented regulation across states. “Infrastructure is not just about roads and ports; it’s about consistency and integration,” Johnson said.
He urged policymakers, investors, and corporates to support the ecosystem with longer-term buyer agreements, customised education-to-industry pipelines, and cross-industry R&D collaboration.
“The old leaders — Japan, Korea, the US, Europe — are past their peak,” Johnson concluded. “Outside of China, India is the only country capable of manufacturing at true scale. The window is open, but not forever.”
Varun Yadav is a Sub Editor at News18 Business Digital. He writes articles on markets, personal finance, technology, and more. He completed his post-graduation diploma in English Journalism from the Indian Inst…Read More
Varun Yadav is a Sub Editor at News18 Business Digital. He writes articles on markets, personal finance, technology, and more. He completed his post-graduation diploma in English Journalism from the Indian Inst… Read More
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